Tuesday, April 29, 2008

This book isn't just about sex but certainly doesn't shy away from it either. It's far more about getting a reluctant partner out camping and hiking and then how to improve the odds of having romantic interludes. After that, it tells you how to plan a trip, how to get along while you out there, how to keep clean, how to have romantic dinners and then tells you all the lovely ways of making sex possible that are only available outdoors.

The book is well written, witty and has great stories. Some stories were simply beautiful and brought a tear to my eye and some were laugh out loud funny. I especially liked "Nice Ways to Say You Stink" and the entire chapter on having sex in a canoe. There is one especially sexy story about toasting marshmallows on an open fire that I had to read twice. The illustrations by Ann Miya were a hoot and added a lot of ambiance to the book.

On top of this, there are useful information sections with recipes, romantic locations and an extensive list of on line resources.

My only real gripe is in the layout, where a large aside, taking up a page or two, can go right in the middle of a sentence. It can interrupt the flow, but is a minor point in the middle of a book with so much to offer.

This is a must for couples who like camping and hiking, but even more so for a member of a couple whose partner is resistant to the idea of camping. It suits any level, from hard core to car campers only. I can't recommend it enough for people who just want a little more spice in their life and are wondering how.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

I have been a Royal Bank member since 1986 when I needed a place to put my cash when I first arrived in university. At the time, it used to be a nice place, you go in and talk to someone and they help you out.

I remember thinking how great cash machines and cash cards were, and they didn't cost anything extra.

It didn't take long for the banks to realize that they could gouge you for a little bit more on each and every transaction, or at least ensure that you were spending a minimum of $10 every month for your transactions.

No bank I have ever been to has been anything but think that I should be gloriously happy they will work with me at all. As an institution, any bank is a money grubbing slime-ball who wants to tear away every cent they can, since 1 cent taken from every individual adds up to millions per year. AND, of course, they don't do 1 cent, they do $2 or $1.10. It always sounds so reasonable when they say, "It's just a small fee."

Every single one of their services used to cost more than it does now, since there was a person doing it. Now, it is almost all automated and they charge just a little bit more for every bit you look at or transfer or save. The charges just creep up too.

I had an account sitting in Canada that was happy to do nothing, there was something like $50 in it. I didn't pay any attention to it, since I've been living in New Zealand for the last 6.5 years but I looked at it and it was in negative numbers, since they've been deducting $2/month from it for the couple of years.

I'm sure they sent me the memo, and they think it's all justified.

I HATE banks. They used to be better and now they are simply worse in every possible way and make BILLIONS every year. That's just BILLIONS of reasons to hate them I think. How much of that is in service charges?

Even 10 years ago when I checked, service charges amounted to 7% of the Royal Bank's total profit. That was 70 million dollars. I guess it's easy to find another way to hide a fee from a bunch of poor morons who don't watch their accounts like a hawk or blow their bank manager to reduce fees.